The Story of Katrina Livingston
by Braenna Galathiel
Summary: True love. It's hard to come by, but wonderful to have. Sirius Black believes he has that now that he has the one girl capable of resisting his charms for almost six years. Sixth year of Maruader's Era to Present day. First attempt at Potter fic. SBOC
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: Everything you recognize belongs to the genius that is JK Rowling. Anything else is a creation of my ambition for all things Harry Potter and Gary Oldman.

Katrina Livingston was glad to be leaving her home for Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Her mum was a pureblood witch, her father had been a pureblood wizard before he died, and her step-father was a cruel Muggle who began to physically abuse both of them when he found out they were witches. So when September 1, 1969 came about, Elizabeth brought Katrina to the King's Cross Station before going into hiding until her divorce was settled. She had decided she'd had enough.

Katrina was sorted into the Gryffindor House. The girls in her year were Lily Evans, a Muggle-born witch, Susan Prewett, and Alice Radcliffe. The boys were James Potter, Sirius Black, Remus Lupin, and Peter Pettigrew. Within the first twenty minutes, the four girls were the best of friends, and they all disliked James and Sirius. They all found the duo to be too cocky and mischievous for anyone's good, including their own.

The school years flew by in a blur for them. They all passed their O.W.L.s with high scores except Peter. By the end of their sixth year, Katrina had given up on trying to fight off the charm of Sirius Black when he saved her life, after Avery knocked her into the lake for being a 'blood traitor,' knowing Katrina had no idea how to swim. They were now dating as an exclusive item, much to the disappointment of both girls and boys throughout the school.

Katrina was beautiful, there was no way to deny that. She had pin-straight waist-length auburn hair, emerald colored eyes that could knock you off your feet, and a body that many girls had to be dead for several weeks to achieve. She was about five-six in height and had a lithe, muscular, athletic build with a bust most girls needed to buy if they really wanted it. At first glance, you could expect Katrina and Lily to be twins. They looked somewhat alike and got along like sisters should.

Sirius was the envy of most boys in school. He was extremely handsome. He had grey, fathomless eyes, the lightness and darkness varying based on the emotions he felt. His black hair was also a way he expressed emotion. When he was depressed, stressed out, or upset he was in a funk for ages and just let his hair grow longer. When all was right in his world, it was short, and he always let his bangs fall before his eyes with a casual sort of elegance no one else could pull off. He had a toned, athletic body due to hours on the Quidditch pitch.

When they were all getting ready to leave for the summer holiday, Katrina was sulking in the common room, having packed everything the night before. Sirius and James emerged from the boys' dormitory. Both were immediately filled with concern at the look on her face.

"What happened, Kitty?" Sirius asked, sitting on the floor and looking up at her. "I _knew_ better than to leave you alone at breakfast. Talk to me."

"I just wish I could turn into any animal and escape their ridiculous gang-ups," she whispered.

"Well, James and I can help you with that. Just tell us what happened, please?" Sirius pleaded, worried about Katrina. He knew the Slytherins picked Lily apart for being Muggle-born and Sirius for being the first and only in a long dark wizard family line to not be in Slytherin as his younger brother currently was. But the Slytherins really handed out the insults and pranks to Katrina and sometimes James simply because the two of them weren't into the pureblood mania sweeping through the wizarding world led by Voldemort.

"They surrounded me outside the Great Hall. Snape, Black, Malfoy, Avery, Nott, the Lestranges...all of them. Just throwing insults left and right. Blood traitor. Slut. Anything that could possibly cut through a person's very emotional core," she revealed, breaking down. Sirius got to his knees and hugged her to him.

"You leave them to us, Kat. You know we always make them pay," James said, angry. He couldn't believe the level the Slytherins had stooped to this time. He saw the bruises on her arms when they fell out of the sleeves of her robes while she hugged Sirius back. "Which of those slimy, cowardly bastards did _that_?" he demanded.

"Did what?" Sirius asked, voice slightly muffled by Katrina's hair.

"Look at her arms," James replied as Katrina tried to cover up her arms.

"It's nothing," she tried to bluff. "I was clumsy and slammed my arms into a few things."

"They're _hand prints_, Katrina!" Sirius exclaimed, pushing up her sleeves to see the angry red marks on her arms. "Who did this, Kitty?"

"Bellatrix. I had just gotten away from the whole gang when she grabbed my arms viciously, slammed me against a wall, and threatened to use...to use the Cruciatus Curse on me if I didn't make Sirius see the light," Katrina explained. "I told her that...that Sirius makes up...his own mind. She...she..."

"She didn't?" James growled.

Katrina shivered. "She did," she whimpered. The two boys held her tightly.

"Come on. We're going to Dumbledore," James said softly. "I can't stand them going after you like this anymore. What we do is harmless, you've been put through physical pain now."

Katrina allowed the two boys to lead her to the portrait hole. "Katrina? What's going on? Where are you taking her?" Lily demanded.

"She was attacked after we all left her to talk to McGonagall after breakfast," James explained. "By Severus Snape and his gang of Death Eaters. We're taking her to Dumbledore."

Lily followed them out of the portrait hole. "You've never gone to Dumbledore before. Which of them took it beyond verbal?" she questioned.

"Bellatrix," Sirius growled. Lily disappeared.

Once they finished up in Dumbledore's office, they returned to Gryffindor tower to get their things for the train ride home. James turned to Katrina. "You mentioned wanting to be an animal, right?" he asked.

"Yeah," she replied uncertainly.

"What if Prongs and I taught you how to become an Animagus?" Sirius suggested.

"I would love that," she admitted.

They brought her up to the sixth year dormitory. Remus Lupin was there, but no one else. He looked up, raising his eyebrows.

"We're teaching her how to become an Animagus so she can escape the worries and tormenting she faces everyday," Sirius said.

"Remus is the only one of us not an Animagus," James began to explain.

"I know. Our parents...his father and mine...were good friends. I've known all along that Remus is a werewolf. Long beyond bothering me, these days," Katrina said. "Could you...show me what you guys become?"

"Sure," James agreed. A moment later, there was a gorgeous stag standing where he had been. Likewise, Sirius had become a big, black dog.

"Peter's a rat," Remus added, since Pettigrew wasn't in the room. James and Sirius changed back. "I heard about what happened with Bellatrix. Are you alright?"

"A bit shook up, but slowly getting over it," she replied.

For the next hour, James, Sirius, and Remus taught her the Animagus spell. Katrina grasped it rather quickly, much more quickly than any of the three males. By the time they went down to the train, Katrina had mastered her Animagus form, which was a sleek black panther. They boarded the train and grabbed a compartment, joined by Peter. Halfway to King's Cross, Katrina left to go across the aisle where Lily, Susan, and Alice were sitting. Sirius and James followed.

"An entire summer without Sirius Black. However will you manage?" Susan teased.

"They're called owls, Sue. The boy is capable of writing a letter," Alice retorted.

"You okay, Lily? You're being awfully and unusually quiet," Katrina said, sitting across from Lily.

"I did something today that I'm not ever going to be proud of," Lily replied. "After Sirius and James told me Bellatrix crossed the line into causing you physical harm, I went looking for her. I...I _hexed_ her. Then I punched her and broke her nose."

"You _what_?!" Katrina, James, Sirius, Alice, and Susan demanded.

"What came over you, Lily? You're the one always telling us not to give them the satisfaction of retaliation," Katrina said.

"I don't know. I just...snapped. I guess...I was really angry that they attacked you on the last day...scared that it would be me next...and I just let instinct take over. I didn't even know what she did to Katrina before I went haywire, I just knew it had to be horrid because both James _and_ Sirius escorted her to Professor Dumbledore."

Katrina took a deep breath and let it out in a shaky sigh. "The Cruciatus Curse," she revealed.

"Oh, Gods, Katrina," Lily said. She hugged Katrina. "I know it doesn't justify what I did, but...an Unforgivable Curse? They keep stooping to newer lows."

They all saw the fear in Lily's eyes. "Lily, don't be scared. That's giving them exactly what they want. If it's any sort of reassurance, the Marauders and I have already resolved to stick by you two next year. Make sure this doesn't happen again," James said softly, sitting beside Lily. She curled up, leaning into his comforting embrace. Four pairs of eyebrows shot up. Sirius and Katrina covered up smirks.

When they reached King's Cross, Katrina spotted her mother talking to the Potters and the Lupins. She lingered behind James and Remus with Sirius. He pulled Katrina close within his warm embrace.

"Keep in touch, Sirius," she whispered.

"No worries there. I can't stand my family, I'll be writing people all summer just to keep sane. You'll probably have an owl before you even finish unpacking," he said bitterly.

Katrina sighed. "My mother says her door is always open to my friends, Sirius. You have more than one escape route if need be," she pointed out.

Sirius smiled. "I'll keep that in mind. Though, if you don't mind, I think I'd feel more comfortable at the Potters," he admitted. "I'm not dating their child."

Katrina giggled. "I don't blame you."

"SIRIUS BLACK, STOP TALKING TO BLOOD TRAITOR FILTH!" his mother shrieked across the train station.

"And so the summer begins," Sirius sighed heavily.

"You can take it. Besides, just think how much sweeter it will make seeing _me_ again on September first," Katrina mused.

"Cheeky. We could make you a Marauder yet," Sirius retorted.

"Thank you, no." They both laughed softly.

Sirius pulled her into a long, tender kiss. Their eyes met as they slowly parted. "I know it's only been three months, but...I love you," Sirius stated.

Katrina smiled brightly. "I love you, too," she mumbled as their foreheads touched. He kissed her again, with a little more passion.

They grabbed their trunks and walked in opposite directions. Katrina hugged her mother when she joined the small group waiting for her. They began walking out.

"All the times you write to me this year, you forget to mention that you've stopped disliking a certain Marauder and picked_ him_ as a boyfriend?" Elizabeth teased.

"Sirius and I weren't sure if things were going to get, pardon the pun, _serious_. It's only been three months," Katrina explained.

"And...?" Elizabeth prodded, having seen their interactions just now.

"He just told me he loves me," Katrina supplied, blushing.

"Padfoot? Love? Kitty, if you ruin us..." James mock warned.

"Ruin? Ha! He's recruiting," Katrina retorted. James and Remus laughed.

"That's Sirius Black for you," Mrs. Potter sighed. She looked to Katrina. "Marry that boy the first chance you get. I always said you two would be perfect together, and you are."


	2. Chapter 2

Disclaimer: Everything you recognize is the property of JK Rowling. Anything you don't is a creation of my ambition for all things Harry Potter and Gary Oldman.

Two days after they reached home, Katrina got an owl from Sirius. He'd had a huge row with his family, his father had beat him and used the Cruciatus Curse on him, and he was now staying with the Potters. As soon as she read the letter, she jammed her feet into flip flops and ran up the road to the Potters despite being in the blue plaid flannel shorts and blue tank top which she had slept in. None of the Potters seemed surprised to see her, but Sirius looked extremely surprised and confused.

"How are you...how did you...?" Sirius stammered.

"I've lived up the road since first year. James never told you my mother and his father are brother and sister?"

"No. I had no idea you were cousins."

"That's the reason I'm the only Gryffindor girl in our year who can stand him. He only has Remus and myself all summer. If he's too arrogant for the two of us to handle, he has to entertain himself. And _nobody_ wants that."

"Thanks, Katrina. I needed that squishing of my ego so soon into the summer," James said sarcastically.

"You're welcome," Katrina replied with sincerity. "Somebody has to keep you grounded and I'm the closest thing you have to a sibling to do so."She turned to examine Sirius closely. "Are you alright?" she asked.

"I'm fine. It's just some bruises, Kitty."

"That's what I always thought, too. By age eight, I'd had a broken jaw, broken ribs, a broken arm, and a broken leg."

Sirius grabbed her wrist. "I'm fine. Trust me, I know what broken bones feel like. I am a Beater, after all. You were..."

"My stepfather. Mum divorced him and turned him in to his Muggle police," Katrina assured. "Da died years ago. I know he loved me dearly."

"Where is your mother this morning?" Mrs. Potter asked. "I had a recipe I wanted to inquire of her."

"I assumed she went to work already, Aunt Emily. Although, she wasn't home by the time I went to bed." A frown crossed her features. "I'm beginning to wonder if she ever came home. I should go."

"Stay, eat breakfast," Mr. Potter insisted.

"I'm not hungry, Uncle Rick, and I'm hardly dressed for companionship," Katrina protested. Just then, her owl Perdita (a snowy owl) and Judy (a barn owl) flew into the room. Katrina walked over to Perdita and took the letter from her leg, giving her the crust of Sirius's toast. She ate it and flew off as Katrina read the letter that was in Albus Dumbledore's handwriting. She sank to the floor, tears welling in her eyes.

"Katrina?" Sirius asked softly. Their eyes met, and Sirius dove out of his chair to hold her.

"Kitty? What's wrong? What's happened?" Mr. Potter inquired with concern.

Mrs. Potter looked up from her own letter. "Elizabeth died doing work for the Order last night," she announced grimly, watching Sirius help Katrina into a chair. "Voldemort himself killed her. There's a possibility he'll be coming for Katrina, not a big one."

"You'll stay with us, Katrina, as long as you'd like, since we're your godparents. The boys don't mind sharing a room, do you, boys?" Mr. Potter resolved.

"Absolutely not," Sirius and James replied.

Sirius sat there holding Katrina until sleep claimed her. He carried her to the spare bedroom and lay her gently on the bed. He moved to leave, but her cool hand wrapped around his wrist.

"I don't want to be alone in this world. Why did this happen?" she asked weakly.

"I don't know why. I intend to find out. I do know that I can promise you that you will _never_ be alone in this world as long as I'm alive," he said, sitting near her stomach. He stroked her hair out of her face. He leaned down to kiss her sweetly, then kiss her forehead. "Get some rest. You've had a rather overly-exciting morning. I'll get your things from your house." She nodded and relaxed. Sirius didn't leave her side until she was sleeping peacefully.

Sirius returned to the kitchen. "Poor girl. She's been through so much already in her life, and now to add this," Mrs. Potter was saying as he walked in.

"She doesn't need pity, Mrs. Potter. She's afraid of being alone, she wants to know why Voldemort did this. She needs friends, the little family she has left, and answers. Otherwise, we're going to have a suicidal teenage girl on our hands, and we don't want that," Sirius said. "Particularly me. I'm gonna go get her things for her."

"I'll come with you," James said, standing up. The two boys left the house to go up the street. They brought Katrina's belongings back and put them silently in her room so she didn't wake up.

On July 16, Sirius gave Katrina a white kitten for her birthday. She named him Dagda after the Celtic Father of the Gods. They received notices from Hogwarts reminding them that they would be taking their N.E.W.T.s this year, a list of school supplies, and James got two extra notices. One revealed that he was the house's Quidditch captain for a third year in a row and the other that he had earned the position of Head Boy. Katrina and Sirius both began calling him 'Big Head Boy' because of the ego-boost the badge had given him. They also began plotting ways to get James and Lily to start dating. Mrs. Potter had caught them at it one day and dropped hints when she thought of them. Whenever James walked into the room they were plotting in, they quickly changed the subject to the latest Quidditch news.

Soon, they were returning to Hogwarts. The day after they arrived, Katrina had a meeting with the new headmaster, Dumbledore. "Candied Apples," she sighed to the gargoyle that blocked the entrance to Dumbledore's new office. It sprang aside, and she jumped onto the rotating stairs. She knocked on Dumbledore's door, receiving an invite to enter. "Good afternoon, Professor."

"Ah, Katrina. Good afternoon. I trust your summer went well?"

"Slightly. After I excepted my mother's death, of course."

"Have a seat. That's good to hear. She would have hated it if you ruined your entire holiday after the fact of her untimely death. I'd like to talk to you about your mother."

Katrina took a deep breath. "Okay," she agreed.

"Elizabeth Livingston was a truly remarkable woman. You don't know this, but she personally fought and defeated Voldemort twice before their third and tragically final meeting. She died protecting you, the most important thing in her life after Alfred's passing. She died protecting people like Lily Evans and your former stepfather...well, Muggles in general." Katrina grinned. "Because it was the right thing to do."

"Why didn't she tell me about the Order of the Phoenix?" Katrina asked him.

"Because she knew that once you found out what the Order stood for, you would want to join. And you can...once you finish school. However, I will let you, Mr. S. Black, Mr. Potter, Ms. Evans, Mr. Lupin, Mr. Pettigrew, Ms. Prewett, and Ms. Radcliffe have certain privileges. Considering the number of attacks that have been escalating toward your group of friends, I can turn my gaze the other direction when you stand up for yourselves and each other. I believe it will better prepare you all for the spots that I will hold for you until after graduation in the Order. Your mother would be very proud of you and your friends. She would also be pleased with your relationship with Sirius."

"She was. The two days she knew about it," Katrina revealed. "You mentioned that there was a chance of Voldemort coming after me."

"I believe you're safe for the time being. You're too young and he's too unaware of your power to come after you just yet. I believe you'll be safe until after graduation," Dumbledore assured.

"Good. One less thing to worry about this year," she sighed with relief.

Dumbledore chuckled. "If there's nothing else, I wish you good luck this school year and allow you to take your leave. I believe a very impatient Mr. Black is pacing the corridor downstairs."

"Thank you, sir. For being honest with me about my mother's death," Katrina said before getting up and leaving.


	3. Chapter 3

Disclaimer: Everything you know and love belongs to the genius that is JK Rowling. Updated in honor of finishing Deathly Hallows...a third time.

She walked back to the common room with Sirius, talking with him about what Dumbledore had told her. Sirius picked up Dagda before the two of them settled on the couch where the cat had been lounging. They both groaned at the sound of Lily shrieking up at James as she and Remus left the boys' dormitory for a Head Boy/Head Girl prefect's meeting.

"We need to get them together before they kill one of the rest of us," Katrina remarked.

"Tonight, then?"

"No. We have classes all day tomorrow. Friday night," Katrina replied. James ran out of the dormitory and out of the tower after realizing he should have left with Lily and Remus. "I'll be damned if I pass all my OWLs with high marks and sleep through my first day of NEWT year classes that I need to pass to be an Auror."

"Good point, love." He lifted his head. "So when are you going to tell them we can retaliate without punishment when the Slytherins attack us first?"

"Eventually," she replied.

They talked quietly amongst themselves for an hour. Remus came back in, shaking his head. They raised their eyebrows. Then the sound of James and Lily fighting yet again reached their ears, and they were shaking their heads too. Lily ran upstairs out of frustration. James just walked over to the notice board and posted a flyer about Quidditch tryouts.

"How many spots are open?" Katrina asked out of curiosity.

"Everything but Seeker and one Beater. Why? Are you thinking of trying out finally?" James questioned.

"It's a possibility," she replied.

"Tryouts are next Saturday. Please come. I know you're as good as Sirius and myself," James pleaded.

"Alright, alright, I'll try out!" Katrina agreed. "I love that you tried to convince me by praising yourself as well."

Remus and Sirius laughed loudly. Katrina was about to say something else when two owls flew into the room to Alice and Susan. Her jaw dropped when she recognized the owls. The two girls took the letters and went up to the girls' dormitory.

"Did you know they were dating Frank Longbottom and David Barry?" she asked.

"No. They graduated last year," Remus replied.

"Well, this is confusing," Sirius mused.

Remus sat in the armchair beside the one James had sat in. "I've been thinking. We know all the secret passages this school has to offer, right? What if we made a map to leave behind us? Mind you, not just any map. There should be a phrase or something to activate it from being a blank piece of parchment. It could be, like...our legacy or something," Remus suggested.

"I think that's a wonderful idea," Katrina agreed. "We can call it the Marauder's Map."

"And sign it with our nicknames. You catch on quick," Remus stated.

"Smashing idea, mate. Think of how funny it would be if, years from now, our kids got a hold of this thing," James said excitedly.

"We'd have a second generation of Marauders!" Sirius exclaimed.

"Oy vey. The poor professors will never know what hit them," Katrina sighed.

They set to work on the map for the rest of the day. The only time they took a break was to go eat dinner. By midnight, they had finished the map. Remus charmed it to appear when one said 'I solemnly swear that I am up to no good,' to disappear when one said 'Mischief managed,'

to insult a person who said something along the lines of 'reveal your secrets,' and to keep track of where people were in the halls and on the grounds at all times. They then all went to bed to sleep before classes the next day.

The week of classes flew by. Friday night, once everyone else had gone to bed, Sirius took James's invisibility cloak and the Marauder's Map. Katrina met him down by the portrait hole. They got under the cloak and crept to the statue that would allow them to sneak out into Honeydukes' cellar. Once they were there, they got a bunch of Lily's favorite chocolates in a shopping bag, leaving the money for them on the counter. They went to a flower shop, doing the same thing there but taking roses, lilies, and a few tulips. At the jewelry shop, they got caught by Sirius's cousin Andromeda Tonks, who was about seven months pregnant. Katrina described Lily, and Andromeda helped her find the perfect necklace to give to Lily: a white gold chain with a heart charm that had three emeralds set into it, connected by an engraving of a trinity knot. They left to sneak back into school.

They went to the kitchens to see the House Elves. They set it up with them to put what they had bought up on the table at breakfast. The necklace and chocolates would be at Lily's place setting specifically with the bouquet of roses, but the lilies and tulips would be strewn about the Gryffindor table. Katrina made a small card saying 'Lily, this is a hope of a date the first trip to Hogsmeade with you. From now on, I'll do my asking with maturity–JP' in handwriting that was oddly similar to James's. She stuck it in the bouquet of roses.

The next morning, Katrina, Lily, Alice, and Susan went down to breakfast together. Katrina steered them toward their usual seats, and Lily gasped. The House Elves had done a very good job with arranging everything perfectly. "Who on earth?" Lily asked as Katrina made her sit.

"I have no idea, but open the box. I'm dying to see what's inside," Alice replied.

Lily opened the necklace box and gasped again. "This is the most beautiful necklace I've ever seen! And it's got a trinity knot!" she exclaimed breathlessly.

Susan plucked the card out of the flowers. "JP? Who is JP?" she asked.

Lily snatched the card and read it. "I know this handwriting! It can't be him! He's too thick to do all this, isn't he?"

"He's tried everything else, Lil. Who says the boy can't finally smarten up and do things the right way? It's the last year he has," Katrina pointed out, eating a piece of an apple cinnamon muffin.

"No...I refuse to believe it," Lily protested.

James sat beside her, gently touching her shoulder. "Do you like everything, Lily? It took me all week to come up with this," he said softly.

"James...I'm speechless. This is all so...perfect and unexpected. I love it all," Lily admitted, hugging him.

"Glad to hear it," James replied with a soft smile. Katrina sat across the table from them with Sirius. "So, about the pre-Halloween Hogsmeade trip..." He reached up to ruffle his hair, but quickly moved to rub the back of his neck when Katrina kicked his shin. "Would you...maybe like to go with me?" he asked.

Lily beamed at him. "I can't believe I'm saying this, but...yes. I'll go to Hogsmeade with you," Lily replied. She kissed his cheek, making him blush. Katrina and Sirius exchanged looks. Now they just had five full weeks to teach James manners, charm, and to wean him of the little habits that bothered Lily.


	4. Author's Note

I'm putting this story on hold until I do some editing. There is a possibility that I will completely revamp it, as well. Sorry everyone.


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